Monday, January 19th
8:10am

Dear Diary,

Today is Martin Luther King Day and tomorrow I am inaugurated. I couldn’t have planned this on better myself. But I suppose that it’s a stroke of fate that the first black president will be inaugurated the day after we celebrate Dr. King’s birthday.

As my presidency is (finally) about to begin, I have decided to resume writing in my diary so that I can have a place to really get my thoughts out. It’s so hard with so many advisors and staff around all the time, so having my own personal diary is a great release.

Tomorrow I am going to be inaugurated. Feels great! And I’m so glad to finally get in the White House. Bush has dragged our country so far down, I definitely have my work cut out for me. So much has changed since since I initially started campaigning. I can’t believe how much more I have to fix, in addition to all the problems Bush caused before 2007. But hey, if anyone’s going to do it, it’s gotta be me. I saw in the New York Times that even in McCain country, they’re starting to realize that I’m the right man for the job. Well, nothing can be truly fixed overnight, but when things start shaping up in this country, more and more people will realize this.

Regardless, today is truly a day to honor one of the greatest civil rights activists and public servants of all time. Accordingly, I made a public announcement to encourage people to renew their commitment to community service in honor of Dr. King. People love to be able to play a role (however large or small) in making this world a better place, and so this is just a little motivation. And it’s not like I would just take the day off after telling everyone to go out and do some volunteer work – especially on the day before my inauguration. All of us (Michelle, Joe, and Jill) are going out to join some service projects today.

Then, I will make appearances at three dinners, honoring Joe, Colin Powell, and John McCain. I must say, I’ll be looking very charitable when it comes time for my inauguration tomorrow.

Yours,
Barack